EAST COUNTY ROUNDUP: LOCAL AND STATEWIDE NEWS

July 25, 2017 (San Diego's East County) -- East County Roundup highlights top stories of interest to East County and San Diego’s inland regions, published in other media. This week’s top “Roundup” headlines include:

San Diego began tackling its housing crisis on Monday by approving legislation aimed at quickly increasing the amount of housing constructed at prices affordable to middle and low-income workers. The new laws make it easier and cheaper for homeowners to add granny flats, make many more housing projects eligible for expedited approvals, and streamline approvals by revamping the appeals process. The laws are the first of roughly a dozen initiatives Mayor Kevin Faulconer and other city leaders say they plan to enact over the next two years to boost local housing affordability.

A legal dispute over ownership of the popular fact-checking site Snopes.com is threatening the existence of the online sleuthing service, which now says it is in dire financial straits. As a result, Snopes on Monday started soliciting donations through a GoFundMe campaign … Its fact-checking capabilities were further validated when the organization was one of several selected last year to help Facebook sort the real news from the fake stuff. Snopes, however, could run out of money. The company, which generates revenue through advertisements, says all funds have been withheld since April by its advertising partner, San Diego-based internet media company Proper Media.

Zawadi Namagazuzyo was about 12 when she was forced to flee her native Congo. Her mother and many family members were dead. Her father wanted her to live. “There was fighting, a lot of fighting,” she said, recalling how the two of them ended up at a refugee camp in Zambia. She grew up there for 13 years—getting married, giving birth, and always waiting to be resettled somewhere else in the world. Then 10 months ago, Namagazuzyo and her family were resettled in San Diego County

Congresswoman Susan Davis, Democrat, has been sued for displaying the LGBTQ flag for Pride. In a press release she had this to say: “As the proud representative of the heart of LGBTQ San Diego, the rainbow flag in front of my DC office is a source of pride for me and my constituents. It is a symbol of our commitment to full equality.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that the city of San Diego is eligible to pursue a low-interest, $492 million federal loan to help fund the initial phase of its project to turn recycled water into drinking water.

Northern California’s Marin and San Mateo counties and the city of Imperial Beach in Southern California filed the complaints in California Superior Court. The claims name 37 companies producing oil, gas and coal.

California state officials on Wednesday cleared the way for resumption of natural gas pumping into an underground storage facility where a blowout spewed methane for nearly four months, sickening Los Angeles residents and driving thousands of families from their homes.